System can notify Nevadans with Apple devices of COVID-19 exposure
Starting Thursday, Nevadans with Apple devices won’t need to download an app to be able to receive notifications if they are exposed to someone infected by the coronavirus.
The Exposure Notification System will launch on all Apple devices starting Thursday, and Nevadans will be able to opt-in to receive notifications when they are exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus, according to a news release from Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Both the notification system and Nevada’s COVID Trace app use Bluetooth to exchange information between phones without revealing a user’s identity or location.
The notification system will be enabled through iPhone settings on iOS devices using iOS 13.7 and later, the release said.
The COVID Trace app, which was launched in August, allows mobile phones to anonymously exchange information when users are physically close to each other. But, there have only been 130,000 downloads, which is a fraction of Nevada’s population, according to Wednesday’s release.
When the notification system launches, Nevada will be the first jurisdiction to have both notifications and an app using the Bluetooth alert technology, the release said.
“These tools are an additional piece of our response aimed at keeping Nevadans safe and healthy through this pandemic,” Julia Peek, who oversees contact tracing in Nevada, said in the release. “The addition of Exposure Notification Express opens this functionality up to even more Nevadans. The process continues to be completely anonymous, private and secure.”
If someone who has enabled the notifications or downloaded the app tests positive for COVID-19, a disease investigator will send them a verification code to submit to voluntarily enter into the app. That way, anyone who have been within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more of the person who has tested positive will receive an anonymous notification about the possible exposure, the release said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
